Romance and Regret
by escapistone
Summary: Ellen regrets leaving Steve and is befriended by Carol without knowing that they are related Chapter 10 UP. FINALLY COMPLETE! (No hurt the author :)
1. Default Chapter

The following disclaimer stands for all chapters.

I do not own this television series, the scripts, or the characters. I am not making any money off of this. CBS, PAX, Paramount etc own the rights. I am just doing this for fun.

WARNING: For all people that hate Ellen, I suggest you not read this story as it will eventually put her in a good light.

I've played with the timeline a little. Carol is not dead and she hasn't re-married and still goes by her first married last name. She is selling real estate in the same town as Ellen works. Ellen knows that Steve has a sister, but doesn't know much more, so she wouldn't know Carol on sight or by name. Hey, it is feasible, you were shocked by the sibling news weren't you? ;)

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen felt her heart flutter as Steve's grinning face moved closer to her own. His piercing blue eyes darkened with desire as he leaned down to capture her mouth with his own. Suddenly, an obnoxious pop song began to play in the background. Steve's image dissolved as Ellen's apartment wall came into view.

With a groan, she tossed her covers back and castigated herself. Her mind had obviously decided to continue torturing her with images of Steve in her sleep. As if constantly thinking of him during the day was not enough. The romance novel touches only served to aggravate her. It was a fine time for her brain to finally absorb the mushy details of that creative writing class.

She was on her own now. That was it. She had to do this. She had to chase her dream. If she did not do this, if she ran back to L.A. and jumped into Steve's arms, she would eventually regret it. It was better to hurt him now than to resent him later in life. Wasn't it?

Not that her dream was going anywhere particularly fast, Ellen mused. She was doing a series of human interest articles: "On Their Own: Successful Women in The Business World." For someone who fit into that group of women, Ellen seemed to spend a whole lot of time wishing she was married to a cop and listening to her father-in-law play his musical instruments.

She knew that she could call Steve. She could even call Mark if she did not have the courage to call Steve. But, she just could not do that to either of them. She could not do it to herself. Steve was too great of a guy to tease with a false hope. He deserved to be with some gorgeous model or actress or doctor that would absolutely adore his every move. What he did not deserve was a sharp tongued reporter who whined about working at seedy newspapers.

Ellen looked at her list of appointments as she absently sipped at her morning coffee. Steve always made strong coffee, her brain helpfully pointed out. A muted scream came out of her as she slammed her mug onto her breakfast counter.

'No more Steve, no more Steve,' she forced her brain to chant. It did not help that he did not even have a creepy friend to be wary of or an evil relative that disliked her. Even his annoying habits were beginning to become endearing as she thought about him.

She supposed that she could think about his sister. She had never met the woman and neither Steve nor Mark had ever talked about her much. It was too painful for either of them. 

Ellen's mind cheerfully filled in the details of a sister that would hate her. The romantic creativity of her dream extended into creating the perfect evil villainess who would despise Ellen on sight. The appeal of Steve dropped as Ellen's imagination created horrible scenarios with the "evil sister."

With a slight protest, her heart quit its incessant pleading to hear Steve's voice and allowed Ellen's brain to take over.

"One more day," Ellen muttered as she began to get ready for work. Privately, she wondered how many more days she could make it before her fingers dialed his number in the middle of the night just to hear his voice. Outwardly, she was calm and collected as she drove to her interview for the day.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen smiled as she walked into the real estate office. A blond lady slightly older than herself smiled as she looked up.

"Hi, you must be Ellen from the newspaper. I'm Carol."

Ellend nodded, "I'm pleased to meet you, Carol. Your employer says that you've done wonders since you came here. He recommended you for the series because your sales have been so high for only working here four months."

Carol smiled, "Actually, I've only been here three months. I transferred in from another office."

Ellen scribbled in her notes, "I understand that you are your sole support?"

"Yes, I was married, but it ended rather badly."

Ellen smirked, "Another woman?"

"No, he was murdered."

Ellen's hand stopped in mid-note, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Carol shook her head, "Don't worry about it. It is a long story, and he was not the greatest of guys. I wanted to rebel, he was available. I've learned my lesson. I don't need to run from my past now. What I need is to be truly independent."

"So, no romance in the future?"

"I wouldn't say that. Being independent doesn't mean not loving or being loved. That was the mistake I made. I thought that I was being smothered at home, so I rebelled. Then I ended up being truly smothered by a man that I'd chosen out of anger instead of love. Now, I'm righting what I did wrong the first time."

Ellen shifted in her seat as her mind started to bring Steve back to the forefront. It was time to change the questions.

"So, what have you done to adapt to the many changes you've faced?"

"Well, starting out on my own wasn't too hard. Once I'd mostly reconciled with my family, it was much easier to launch out into a positive life."

"Mostly reconciled?" Ellen cringed as she heard her voice unwittingly begin to dig for dirt.

Carol noticed Ellen's flinch. "Why do I have the feeling that you are more uncomfortable with this interview than I am?"

Ellen sighed, "You would have made a great reporter."

"No, I wouldn't have. But I do make a great salesperson, and I know the signs of an uncomfortable person, and I also know the signs of regret and insecurity."

"Is it that obvious?"

"No, it is more of a family trait on my part. We snoop where we aren't wanted and try to make things better. My guess is that you aren't so hot in the love department, you feel defeated in your job, and you feel rather lonely moving to a city where you don't know anyone."

Ellen laughed, "Pretty close, although, I was the one that dropped the bucket of water on the fire in the love department. I wanted to go somewhere with my career other than into dark alleys to interview people abducted by aliens."

"And your guy didn't approve?"

"Oh, he approved. He wasn't much on tabloids. He just happens to live in an entirely different state, and he deserves more than what I can give him."

"Tough breakup?"

"I made him cry. He doesn't cry, ever. He's kind of Mr. I'm-gonna-be-strong-for everyone."

Carol shook her head. "Well, I can't help you there, but I can help you out where your job is concerned. First, what you need to do is separate your breakup from your job. You can't be a good reporter when you feel guilty every time you do an interview or write an article. As for the loneliness, why don't we have coffee tomorrow? I'm relatively new to the area, so are you."

Ellen smiled. "You realize that I was the one who was supposed to do the interview and draw conclusions."

"I do, and I think that you should start asking those questions. Otherwise, you might not have that job to sulk over," Carol teased.

Ellen grinned and proceeded with her questions.


	2. 2

First chapter = disclaimers

BTW: I forgot to mention in the first chapter that this story is dedicated to Betty who specifically wanted a positive story with Elle.

Thanks for all the great reviews!

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen mindlessly swirled her spoon around in her coffee as she waited for Carol. After their first meeting, they had met weekly to discuss anything and everything. When Ellen had learned that Carol had friends and family in L.A., she had made a rule not to talk about said people with their real names. It was selfish of her, but she did not want her new friend to be wrapped up in any sort of controversy. The amount of bad dirt that Ellen had on numerous people in L.A. made that a fairly real possibility.

Carol had laughed when Ellen proposed the idea, but she had acquiesced after assuring Ellen that her family was not part of a crime family. She could not honestly assure Ellen that her family never had anything to do with illegal activities, so it seemed in the best interest of their friendship to agree.

"Ella!" Carol's voice floated over the tables as she made her way over to Ellen's spot. 

Ellen smiled at the nickname. They had been discussing the finer points of music one day, and to Carol's horror, she found that Ellen had a distaste for jazz and blues. Carol had immediately declared it to be impossible and had spent the better part of an hour trying to convince Ellen of the merits of jazz and blues. When Ellen had unrepentantly refused to change her opinion, Carol had sworn to call her Ella after Ella Fitzgerald until she changed her mind.

Carol slid into the seat across from Ellen, "I'm sorry I'm late. I had a difficult client this morning."

Ellen smiled, "Oh, that's okay. It gave me sometime to make a ruff draft for my story for tomorrow." 

Carol smiled, "What priceless humanitarian treasure is it this week?"

"Dentists: Friends or Foes?"

Carol sighed, "And you got this assignment because?"

"Because my boss's niece got an internship at the paper, and he sent her out to cover the real news. As one of the newer reporters, I was the one who got bumped down the line. I'm beginning to miss the tabloids."

Carol laughed, "You mean you're starting to miss 'Mr. Perfect' again."

"I never said he was perfect!" Ellen protested.

"No, just that he is sweet, strong, well mannered, owns his own business, is athletic, and has the bluest pair of eyes you'll ever see. Sounds like 'perfect' to me."

Ellen grinned, "Did I mention his smile?"

"Ella, why don't you just give up and beg for his forgiveness? You're infatuated and head-over-heels in love with this guy. I'm certain you could work something out."

"I would, but I think it is pretty much a one-sided thing now. I called a friend of mine for a source on an article last week…"

"The consumer hair salon story?"

"Yes," Ellen said exasperatedly, "Where was I? Oh, my friend says that he's been out with at least four other women since me. I'm the one who broke it off, and I can barely rent a movie on weekends without feeling like I'm cheating. He has clearly moved on. And, I don't blame him. I'm not the world's greatest catch."

Carol sighed, "Well, if it is easy for him to move on, maybe he wasn't as great as he seemed."

"Don't try to make me feel better, Carol. I can't expect a guy like that to wait for me to quit running around trying to make a name for myself."

"Hey, that isn't fair. You happen to be a great person. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

"Only if he's a masochist."

"You know, I think that you've just built up too much guilt over this whole scenario. Look, if it didn't work out, it didn't work out. If it is really for the best, you'll know it. If it isn't, I think that you had better pack your bags and run back before his dates become girlfriends."

Ellen smiled, "Enough of me. You said that you had some big news?"

Carol nodded, "I'm going to be gone for a couple of weeks. My dad asked me to come and visit, something about giving my 'Big Brother' something else to stew about. You don't know my brother. Nice guy, but he gets all protective and broody sometimes. You never know what will put him into 'superhero' mode."

"So, you're going to be his distraction?"

"Yes, we fight like cats and dogs most of the time. I'm always good for distracting him. Either that, or the whole plan will backfire and he'll end up crying on my shoulder."

"Sounds like a winning plan either way."

"As long as we don't kill each other, it is."

Ellen smiled, "Well, I'll be certain to get you back up to date with local basket weaving when you get back."

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Steve Sloan glared menacingly at Jesse, "Give it up Jess."

"Aw, come on Steve. Look, I promise this one is a winner Five-six, Long black hair, Blue eyes, great personality… She's perfect!"

"So were the last four. Look, Jess, I appreciate you setting me up, but it isn't working."

"You're just on the rebound. You need to get out there."

"I've been out there, and I've succeeded in obtaining three women who feel incredibly sorry for me and one who volunteered to go 'put some sense into that fool of a woman.'"

Jesse shook his head, "It just takes some time. You can't quit, otherwise you'll end up scared of dating."

"I hardly think that you are the model of how to rebound off of a relationship."

"What?"

"Jesse, I wasn't the one who drained Amanda's freezer of ice cream and cried on her shoulder."

"I always eat a lot," Jesse said defensively.

"You hate mocha-cookie-crunch." Steve said pointedly.

"So, learn from my mistakes. It's better than sitting at home watching old sitcoms with Mark."

"That's what you do."

"And I don't want to share the room on the couch."

"No, Jesse. I don't think I can handle another date on Friday."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it because you have plans," Mark said as he sauntered into the kitchen where Steve and Jesse were talking.

"What plans Dad?"

"You are taking a wonderful lady out to dinner on Friday."

"Dad, I just told Jesse I wasn't going out on a date on Friday."

"A date? Steve that thought is very disturbing. Are you sure that those concussions haven't caught up with you?"

"I feel like I'm getting set up. I'll bite. Just who am I taking out on Friday?"

"You are escorting your Old Father and your Lovely Sister out to dinner."

"Carol's coming? Oh, swell. Why don't you invite Norman too so I can be ridiculed and embarrassed."

"Now, Steve. That isn't a nice thing to say. Your sister isn't going to ridicule you."

"You didn't say anything about Norman," Jesse jumped back in.

"I don't like to fib Jesse. Norman can be embarrassing."

Steve shook his head, "Fine, I'll go out with you and Carol on Friday. If you'll excuse me, I think I should go clean out the guest room for her."

Mark let out a long breath as Steve left the room. 

Jesse glanced over at him, "Yeah, I know. Steve never gives up that easily."

Mark frowned, "I just don't know what I'm going to do with him, Jesse."

"You mean aside from kidnapping the two of them and having a shot gun wedding?"

"As tempting as the idea is, I'm not sure I'd attempt it on either of them."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Steve's too big for me to take."

Mark chuckled, "I'm not worried about Steve, but I have it on good authority that Ellen fights nasty. Scratches are painful."

Jesse sighed, "Well, as long as Steve has volunteered to clean. What's on T.V.?"


	3. 3

First chap = disclaimers

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Carol smiled warmly as her father met her at the airport. After a quick hug, he ushered her to the car explaining that Steve was on duty and could not be there to help pick her up.

"I'm guessing that there was something you wanted to talk to me about anyhow. Something that you don't want to discuss around Steve?" Carol said as she got into Mark's car.

Mark sighed, "Unfortunately, you're right. Carol, Steve's had a terrible breakup. He won't talk to anyone about it and he's becoming more and more…"

"Withdrawn?"

"No, compliant. As long as he doesn't have to put any emotion into it, Steve will do almost anything. He's been working extra shifts both at Bob's and the department. He denies it bothers him even when it is apparent to his friends that it does."

"Sounds like typical Steve behavior to shelter everyone else, but the lack of stubbornness in certain areas is disturbing. Too bad the compliancy doesn't extend to dealing with the actual problem."

"That's what I'm hoping you can help with. You and Steve have an unusual relationship. I realize that you've had some rough spots but… Do you think that you could help him out?"

"Dad, he's my brother of course I'll try to help. We don't hate each other that much. By the way, what kind of woman has the gall to dump Steve, or was she another homicidal maniac?"

"No, actually she was a very nice young woman. Well, Steve didn't think so at first, but they sort of grew on each other."

"Thanks to a little nudging on your part?"

Mark nodded, "I think that is one reason Steve won't talk to me about this. He doesn't want to burden me down with any feelings of guilt."

"Sometimes Steve gives himself too much trouble."

"At the moment, I'm inclined to agree with you."

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Steve forced a smile to his lips for the fifth time. Dinner with Carol was nice, too nice. She was trying to cheer him up. He did not want to be happy. He deserved to be miserable. After all, there had to be something wrong with him.

In his bachelorhood he had managed to attract all manners of whackos and women who did not want to commit to him. No matter what his family or friends said, the problem had to lie with him. He had to have some inherent fault that attracted bad relationships. There was no other excuse.

"Steve?" Carol's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Yeah?" Steve replied trying to remember what the topic of conversation had been.

"You looked a million miles away, son," Mark said.

Steve shrugged his shoulders and smiled artificially still trying to remember what he had been asked.

Carol cleared her throat, "Can't remember the topic of conversation?"

"Of course I can," Steve huffed defensively, "You were talking about your job."

"Close, I was talking about my new friend, Ella. She was just through a major break-up. We became friends as I helped her through it."

Steve glowered at his dad, "This isn't subtle." He turned to look at Carol, "Does your friend really exist or is she a hypothetical friend made to get Stevie to open up?"

"Steve!" Mark's voice barked at his son causing some neighboring tables to look in their direction.

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to talk about my failures in life," Steve mumbled around his glass of water as the other tables returned to their dinners.

"Failures? Steve, a failure was that hairdo you had when you were sixteen. A breakup isn't a failure," Carol shook her head, "Whoever she was, she didn't deserve you if she wanted to get rid of you."

"You can't say that. You never met her. Besides, I don't exactly have a great track record with women."

"Well, moping won't solve the problem. If you really think she's the one for you, why don't you go after her?" Carol watched her brother's face intently.

"Because, she needs to succeed. I can't beg her to stay with me and have her dreams unfulfilled."

"Well, if her dreams aren't with you, then she wasn't the right one."

"You can't use logic on this, Carol. Heck, you couldn't use logic on anything with Ellen," Steve mumbled morosely.

Carol's face went blank, "Ellen?"

Mark misinterpreted Carol's look, "Ellen was Steve's girlfriend. And Steve, your sister is right. This isn't your fault."

Carol merely nodded her support too preoccupied to do much more. It would be a really far fetched coincidence, but stranger things had happened to her family. She hid her inner musings by taking a sip of wine. 

If her assumptions were correct, she had a good idea of what was needed to fix the situation. If her musings were wrong, then she could end up raising false hopes.

If she talked to her dad, he would want to tell Steve right away. Mark was desperate to see his son happy. So, she could not talk to Mark. She would have to talk to one of Steve's friends.

Anyone at the station was definitely out. Fellow officers were not going to hide anything from Steve. The only other friends that she knew of Steve's were Amanda and Jesse. Amanda did not appear to be the sneaky type. Jesse, on the other hand, seemed to have a little bit of a devious streak to him. Her father had said that Jesse was worried about Steve. She would have to make a visit to the emergency room tomorrow.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Jesse methodically finished his paper work and headed out to lunch. He had just entered the elevator when Carol rushed into it. The two of them stared at each other for a second in the otherwise empty lift.

"Dr. Travis, I need to talk to you about Steve."

"What about?" Jesse answered although he had a fair idea about the intended topic.

"I think I have a plan to fix this whole mess, but first, I need some help."

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Forty-five minutes later, Jesse Travis sat stunned at a small table at a café close to the hospital. He had elected to go there so their conversation was not overheard by the hospital staff.

"Wow, I mean this is amazing. What are the odds that Steve's sister ends up befriending his ex-girlfriend and no-one knows?"

Carol laughed, "The unlikely seems to follow my brother. I don't think that I'd put it past him to end up in a bar fight with the second gunman on the grassy knoll."

Jesse chuckled in agreement, "So, what do we do?"

"Well, we know that they are both incredibly stubborn, so just talking to them won't work."

"Right."

"We also know that they don't like talking to each other, but that they have to so they can work their relation ship out."

"Right." Jesse nodded his head.

"We have the problem of Ellen's career."

"Yeah."

"And we can't tell Dad because he'll try to reason with them."

Jesse blew a stream of air through his lips, "So all we have to do is overcome their mutual stubbornness, get them to talk, get Ellen a job, and do it all without our master planner who is too emotionally involved."

Carol sighed, "We're in over our heads."

Jesse nodded, "But, as Mark will tell you, I've always been one to jump in over my head. Look, you go back and start working on Ellen. I'll stay here and work on Steve. I'll give you my number so you can call me. You're a Sloan. I'm sure you can plot something."

Carol shook her head, "I hope so."


	4. 4

First Chapter = Disclaimers

Janet: In response to your question, yes Carol was rather quick at figuring out the connection. I had originally planned an additional scene which would have taken place before dinner. I forgot to put it in as I was writing at about 2 am. *frowns* I may go back and fix that when I have time.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Carol took a deep breath as she disembarked from her plane. Deviousness was not usually a part of her character, but there was very little she could do about it. She had a friend that was in pain. She had a brother in even more pain. She had to do something about it.

Fortunately, Jesse Travis had more deviousness in his character. He also had experience in plotting. Unfortunately, he also had the unenviable task of working on Steve. As much as Carol loved her brother, she also knew how frustrating he could be at times. Mules had been known to point at Steve and call him stubborn.

Together Carol and Jesse had come up with a list of objectives. First and foremost was to get Ellen and Steve talking again. After that, they had the small matter of getting them back together and getting Ellen a respectable job in L.A.

This all had to be accomplished without the main parties suspecting the interference of their friends.

Carol shook her head. Maybe she should just run off and ignore her family again. It would probably be much less stressful.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Jesse smiled as he approached Steve. The detective's eyes narrowed and he turned his mouth into a grim line.

"No. No more dates Jess. I told you that the last one was just that. The Last."

"Hey, relax. I've done some thinking, and I think you're right."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I've been pushing you way too hard. You need to do things at your own pace. I mean, you guys had something special going on. It takes time to recoup."

"Well, I'm glad to here it. Now do you think you could get Dad to see that?"

"Mark has been pushing you to date?"

"Ever since I turned thirty, but that isn't what I was talking about. He keeps trying to cheer me up. I think that that was why Carol was here. Apparently, Dad doesn't think she did too great of a job. He's back to asking if I need to talk every ten minutes."

"Steve, your dad is just worried about you. You know how he gets. But, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks Jess. I'm glad I can count on someone. I have the feeling Dad's plotting behind my back. It'll be nice to have someone on my side for a change."

Jesse's grin faltered for a second before he walked away. He felt a touch guilty about plotting behind Steve's back and a touch more about Steve suspecting Mark of plotting. On the other hand, Steve would be spending his time watching Mark. Which was a good thing as far as Jesse's plan went.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Mark hesitated for the fifth time as he reached for the phone. He hated sneaking around behind Steve' back but there were just some things that a father had to do for his kids. He needed to get Steve and Ellen talking again. The two of them had never been especially good at communicating their deeper emotions. So, Mark figured that it would have to be up to him to get them to at least talk once and a while.

The problem was, he just plain felt guilty about leading Ellen on like he was about to do.

His plan was simple. Call Ellen and ask her to do some occasional research on a doctor in her area that Mark had some suspicions about. She would have to make contact with Mark occasionally. That would mean that Steve would probably answer the phone. Ideally, they'd learn to be civil to each other by the end of about eight years or so.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.

Mark put down the receiver again.

Still…

With a vengeance, Mark grabbed the phone and started dialing before his brain caught up with him again.

"Hello?" Ellen's voice came over the line.

"Hi, Ellen, this is Mark Sloan from Community General."

"I know where you work, Mark. You're sort of hard to forget."

Mark laughed, "Ah, yes. I suppose I'm a touch nervous about this."

Ellen cleared her throat and chose to avoid the implications of his nervousness, "So, what can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was hoping to ask a favor of you. Community General is considering adding a new heart surgeon to our staff. One of the applicants is a Doctor Alvin Tremble that works at a hospital near you. His credentials are the best, but I had a feeling about his attitude when we interviewed him. He didn't seem to be very forthcoming. Could you check him out a bit for me?"

"Of course! I mean, sure I will when I have time away from my job," Ellen cringed at the excited tone in her voice."

"Well, that is just great. Thank you so much for your help. I'll buy you dinner the next time I see you."

"I'm sure you will. I'll give you a call when I get some information."

"Bye, Ellen."

"Goodbye, Mark."

Mark smiled as he hung up the phone. That was not so hard after all.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen looked in her mirror in disgust. Ever since Mark had called, she had been wearing a stupid smile. It was silly and something an adolescent girl would do. An adult did not get excited about calling someone's house just because she was hoping for her ex-boyfriend to answer.

 Glaring at her reflection, she stuck out her tongue. The instant she released the expression, her face returned to its happy glow. With a sigh, she headed out the door. She did not want to be late for her lunch with Carol. Hopefully, her friend would be too busy telling stories about her family to notice the dopey expression.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Carol eyed her friend warily as she approached. Ellen was beaming. She looked like someone who had just been out on a highly successful date. Carol swallowed her drink. What if Ellen had found another guy while she had been visiting her father?

Ellen plopped down in the seat next to her friend, "So, how was the trip?"

"Good. Why do I have the feeling that I should be asking you what you did while I was gone?"

"What do you mean? I just did my normal job. Whined about my unfair boss, the usual."

"And?"

"And what?" Ellen replied innocently.

"You look like a light bulb."

"Oh," Ellen stalled not wanting to admit her stupidity, "well, I got a phone call from a guy I know."

"A guy?" Carol absently echoed as she watched her brother's love life go up in flames.

"Yeah, I knew him when I was in L.A. He asked me to do some research for him."

"Really?"

"Don't give me that look, Carol. He's old enough to be my father. Or should I say, my father-in-law."

"Mr. Wonderful's father?" Carol fought the incredulity from crossing her face.

"Yes, he wants me to do a little reporting for him. Look, I know it's stupid, but is it such a bad thing to want to here his voice?"

"Mr. Wonderful's voice or his father's?"

"Carol!"

"It isn't a bad thing. In fact, I think it is a good thing. Maybe you'll get back together."

"I doubt it. He'll probably be angry with me."

"I'm sure he'll get over it."

Ellen sighed, "Well, enough about me. How was your trip?"


	5. 5

First chapter = disclaimers

At long last, an update. Kudos to those who pushed for a new chapter, ask, and ye shall receive!

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Carol sighed as she got back to her apartment. Her father was an amazing person, but with his involvement, things could get sticky. His plot was obviously a mere ruse to get Steve and Ellen talking.

The problem was that Steve would probably figure that out as quickly as she had. Steve usually did not like other people nosing around in his love life, not even his own father. Normally, Steve would overlook such an intrusion, but Carol was not sure he would in this situation.

Steve and her father were close, but there was a point that even Mark could not cross.

Carol ran her fingers through her hair. What to do? She'd have to call Jesse. From the small amount of time she had spent with her brother's friend, he seemed to be an eternal chatterbox. Hopefully, he would be able to smooth things over with Steve, with any luck, that would parlay into getting Steve talking to Ellen which was the goal of everyone involved.

Now then, time for "Ellen" to start writing out some resumes.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen groaned as she fiddled with the phone cord. So far, she had not been able to really dig up anything on the doctor Mark had asked her about. The fact that she did not have any information did not truly warrant a phone call. On the other hand, there was a high likelihood that Steve would be home to answer the phone.

This brought up another dilemma. Did she want Steve to answer the phone, or did she not want Steve to answer the phone? Was hearing his voice worth the seething sarcasm that it would emote the instant he knew it was her?

Ellen closed her eyes and tried to visualize "angry Steve." It worked for about five seconds. The problem was that none of Steve's moods had every fazed her before. Annoyance was just another way of displaying his charming features.

Ellen paused her train of thought. Did she just apply "charming" to Steve's facial description? Wonderful, she really was turning into a romance novel writer. She snorted. Maybe she should take up writing pulp fiction. After all, it was not that far off from writing for a tabloid.

With conviction she picked up her phone. There was nothing like a cold dose of the truth to chase away romantic notions.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Mark sighed as he shuffled his way to the phone. It had been a tough day at the hospital and Steve was having a harder one at the station. That meant that Steve was still and the station and therefore unable to answer the phone for his dearest father.

"Mark Sloan," he said pleasantly into the receiver.

"Mark? You sound terrible," Ellen spoke before her brain caught up with her. She had been set for Steve to answer and was surprised when Mark had.

"Ah, Ellen. Yes, I've had a tough day at work," Mark said as he mentally added her phone call to the list of things that had gone wrong that day. It would be the one day Steve was not home…

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm also sorry that I can't cheer you up. No dirt on your doctor friend. In fact, I haven't been able to come up with much at all. It's going to take a bit more research than I thought it was going to."

"Well, don't push yourself too hard. It isn't an emergency."

"Please don't say that. It gives me bad feelings when you say things like that. People turn into axe murderers and psychos when you and Steve say phrases like that."

Mark laughed, "Okay, how about 'I'm sure you have more important things to do.'"

"Well, that's better. Not much better, but better."

"I'm glad I put your mind to rest. Now, is there anything else?" Mark tried not to sound too hopeful.

"No, no I guess not. I'll give you a call when I find out anything."

Mark wanted to sigh when she did not ask about Steve but instead he said, "Goodbye, Ellen."

Ellen responded with a very bland, "Goodbye Doctor Sloan."

And both were totally unsatisfied with a perfectly pleasant conversation.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Jesse rubbed his hands together nervously. Carol had called him last night and told him about Mark's latest scheme. She had also given him distinct instructions to keep Steve in a good temper about the deal. 

"Right, like that'll work," Jesse muttered to himself.

"Like what will work, Jess?" Steve said from behind the doctor.

Jesse nearly spilled his coffee on himself, "Steve what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I don't know. What am I usually doing at the hospital while I'm on duty as a homicide detective?"

"You're asking your father to solve a case for you?"

"Very funny, Jesse."

"Gee, I'm sorry Steve. You didn't look like you'd been injured."

"Jesse!"

"Take it easy, Steve. You're turning red in the face."

"I don't know why I even bother with you anymore."

"Because I own the other half of the restaurant and you can't avoid talking to me?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of you being good friends, but I'll take your excuse. It's more professional."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Nice try, Jess. But you're on break for another ten minutes. You haven't asked what the case I'm working on is about, and you still haven't answered my first question."

"Man, they really train you well in the police force don't they."

"No, I live with my father. He is sneakier than any criminal I've ever met," Steve paused and looked at Jesse's face, "Dad's up to something, isn't he?"

"No," Jesse shifted his weight around and looked for a reason to escape.

"Jesse, you couldn't lie to get a quarter from a half blind ninety-year-old woman."

"That's harsh Steve. Why would I want to take money from an old lady?"

Steve just fixed his stare on the shorter man using his height to intimidate Jesse.

"Okay, okay. Look Mark might be planning a little something to make you happy that won't make you happy, but it should only you're too stubborn to realize it, and you're going to be a big jerk, and I don't want to clean up the pieces, so just be nice and don't get all huffy. Got me?"

"Not really, but I'm sure it will make sense in a month or two."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Yes, when my friend Jesse Travis comes back from his trip; remind him that he has to work at Bob's tonight."

"Ha, ha."

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Steve marched himself into his father's office, "Alright, what are you up to?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're up to something. You have to be. I asked Jesse about it and he's speaking in incoherent sentences."

"Now, Steve, would I do something like that to you?"

"Dad, you've been doing 'something like that' to me since I was born."

"Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Once."

"Really?"

"Recently."  
  


"You don't blame me for that do you?"

"No, no. I blame myself."

"Steve, it really wasn't a mistake until the two of you decided to be mutually stubborn."

"_I_ wasn't mutually stubborn. She's the one who left me. I simply got stubborn afterwards. I didn't just admit to being stubborn, did I?"

"Steve, no one will argue with you that Ellen made a huge mistake by breaking up with you. But, it would be a worse mistake if you couldn't forgive her or if you let it affect the rest of your life."

"I know Dad, it's just. I loved her so much, and she left me. I wanted, I wanted this one to work out. I thought it would. I thought she loved me as much as I loved her."

"Maybe she did."

"I doubt that."

"Steve, one of your main concerns about the people that you love is that they'll be hurt because of your job."

"Yeah, so?"

"Is it difficult to see that Ellen might feel the same way?"

"She's a reporter. It isn't the same thing."

"It is in a way. Son, if Ellen stayed a tabloid reporter, it wouldn't be long before your reputation suffered. People would be accusing you of leaking stories to her. I would be suspect of allowing confidential information to leak out. If you thought someone you loved was in danger because of you, wouldn't you try to make them safe?"

"Are you trying to say that she left to protect me?"

"Yes. Steve, Ellen's career would have suffered if she had stayed here, but you would have suffered too. By moving away, she moved you out of harm's way. I don't agree with the way she handled the situation, but then again, I don't always agree with what you do either."

"Yeah, well the problem with calling it a mistake is that mistakes can be fixed. There isn't much opportunity for us to do that."

Mark smiled, "Leave that to me, son. Leave that to me."


	6. 6

First chapter = disclaimers

Yup, short update with a cliffhanger ending. 

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen smiled at Dr. Alvin Tremble as he sat across the table from her. A simple investigation for Dr. Sloan had turned into a dinner date with a very handsome doctor. At least, Ellen would have called him handsome if she had not been spending all of her time fantasizing that she was with Steve.

Alvin's brown eyes crinkled at the corners as he completed his joke. They sparkled in amusement as Ellen laughed at the punch line. They were beautiful eyes. Ellen wanted nothing more than to poke them shut so she could pretend to be with a cop.

With a polite smile, Alvin excused himself to the bathroom. Ellen waited until the man was almost out of sight before she pounced on the contents of his jacket pockets. Hidden amongst the man's pocket lint and grocery receipts was the corner of a napkin with a phone number on it. Ellen quickly stuffed the contents back in Alvin's jacket pockets and jotted down the number in her notebook.

Seconds later, Alvin returned from his jaunt to the bathroom. Ellen smiled politely as he sat back down.

"You know, I would never have pegged you for a woman with an appetite for ribs," Alvin said as they were served, "I would have thought you to be more of a salad girl. You're so lady like. I must admit I was dumbfounded to learn you liked joints like this."

"What can I say?" Ellen shrugged and smiled politely before she could gag on the overwhelming 'compliment.'

"Ellen, I know this is our first date, but I can't help but wonder. Would you see me again on Friday?"

"Of course, I mean, you're such a fascinating person. What girl could resist?" Ellen fought back her gag reflex. The man oozed superiority. Another date would be murder, but she had to do it. Helping Mark was as close as she could get to Steve, and she would die before she gave up that chance.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Carol watched as her friend listlessly stirred her coffee. After eating her third éclair of the morning, Ellen had ordered a sack of donuts to go. Something was bothering the reporter.

"What on earth is bothering you so much?" Carol finally blurted out.

"I have a date," Ellen replied morosely.

Carol fought back a wave of panic before she responded, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not when you spend the whole time wishing you were with someone else. Not when the only reason you're going is because your ex's father asked you to do some investigating, and especially not when the guy is completely full of himself."

"Why don't you treat it like just another story?"

"I can't. I feel like I'm cheating on _him."_

"But you aren't you're just getting information."

"Easy for you to say."

"Oh, really, you are being overly dramatic. You can't be cheating when it isn't truly a date."

"Then that makes me a liar because I told the guy that it was a date. So I'm either a cheat on a fantastic guy I broke up with, or I'm a complete lying floozy to a jerk."

"I think I prefer lying to the jerk. It doesn't sound as malicious."

"Carol…"

"What do you want me to say? You're miserable because you're going out with someone you don't like. Any woman would feel that way."

"Are you trying to tell me this is normal?"

"Your feelings? Yes. This situation? Not in a million years. You are a seriously warped individual. The good thing is I have a feeling that 'Mr. Perfect' is too."

Ellen laughed, "I thought that you were my friend."

"Friends have an inherent duty to tell the truth."

"Well in that case, I have an inherent duty to tell you that that top looks terrible."

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

     Jesse smiled as he shamelessly flirted with an overweight middle aged woman. Steve was going to owe him soooooo much. Jesse had heard a rumor that a certain paper was looking for a reporter. That certain paper's human resource manager happened to eat at bob's every other night.

  He knew it was very risky to pull this sort of thing, but he was going insane. So, Jesse Travis had given the manager a free pass on anything on the menu, flirted outrageously, handed her Ellen's resume, and proceeded to beg like a five-year-old for a new toy.   

The older lady laughed, "This has got to be the strangest plea for a job that I've ever had. You want me to hire a woman you aren't related to because she is your best friend's ex? I should hire her simply because of your story. Are you certain she isn't your girlfriend?"

"You come in here often enough. Who looks like he's been dumped me or Steve?"

"True, but that doesn't mean that this Ellen was the woman that dumped him."

Jesse turned on his best puppy dog eyes, "Would you at least read her résumé? Please?" Jesse's lip quivered just slightly.

"Oh, for heaven's sake! I would have read it without the free meal. I'll keep you posted, Dr. Travis. By the way, if you ever get tired of being a doctor and business owner, you might try theatre. You looked just like my malamute when he needs to go."

Jesse sighed in relief as the woman left. She was going to consider the application.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen frowned as she went through her phone messages. Her contacts still had not been able to track down the owner of the unlisted number that she had taken out of Dr. Tremble's pocket.

Well, it was past time that she told Mark about her progress.

She flopped onto her couch and dialed Mark's number from memory.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Steve grinned as his father shoved him out of the kitchen. There really was nothing like burning toast to motivate your father into cooking.

The ringing telephone cut short Steve's gloating.

"I'll get it," he called as he went to pick up the receiver.

"Hello?" Steve queried as he answer the phone.

"Steve?" Came the surprised voice on the other end.


	7. 7

First chapter = disclaimers

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen froze when she heard Steve's voice on the other end. This was the moment she had both looked for and dreaded. What should she say? How should she say it? Should she wait until he said something first?

Unfortunately for her, Steve was having the exact same argument with himself on the other end of the phone line. From the kitchen, his father asked who was calling. Shocked into responding, Steve blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Can I ask why you're calling?"

Ellen paused at the question. Was that a normal question, or was he showing impatience that she had called?

"Your father asked me to get some information for him. I'm just calling to update him on what's going on."

"He what? I, mean, I'll get him for you."

Ellen sighed as she heard Steve rest the receiver down on the table that the phone was situated on. The last comment was most definitely angry. Thankfully, it seemed Steve was upset with his father and not her, but it did appear that she was ultimately the source of the irritation. Not good, but not as bad as it could have been.

Ellen heard voices in the background as Steve told his father who was on the phone. From the tone of the conversation, she figured she should keep the phone call short so that Steve could argue with his father.

"Ellen, hi," Mark's voice was suddenly on the other end of the phone line.

"Hi, Mark. I'm just calling to give you a little update. Is everything okay with Steve? He sounded upset."

"When doesn't he sound upset?" Mark replied.

"When you aren't meddling in his affairs."

"Which is precisely never, a father's work is never done. Now, if only I could convince Steve of that." 

"I think maybe I'll leave you two to figure that one out. I'm not sure I'm in a position to offer advice. I do however, have a lead. I got a mysterious phone number from Dr. Tremble's pocket. I'm not sure if it will lead to anything, but I've been trouble tracking down the owner. That has to count for something."

"Really? That's great Ellen. Say, why don't you give me a call back later. I think that Steve wants a few words with me."

"I understand completely. Goodbye Mark."

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Steve watched impassively as his father walked into the living room. His arms were crossed and his face was set in his best 'hard-nosed-cop' look.

Mark sighed, "Look, Steve, this isn't what you think."

"It isn't?"

"Well, it is, but you're just being stubborn. Tell me you weren't glad she called."

"That isn't the point. The point is that you tricked me and her. She didn't call for me, Dad, she called for you. That's hardly promising."

"Oh, you can't be that blind. Steve, that woman is nearly as stubborn as you are. Do you think she would have helped me out on something so trivial unless she had an ulterior motive? She wants to talk to you. I'm just an excuse."

"I don't think I believe you."

"For pity's sake Steve, try being open minded."

"Open minded! Dad she left me."

"And you let her go."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is. I know you. You go after what you want. The two of you made a mess out what should have been a very simple solution. With your combined your non-communication and your un-trustingness and your stubbornness and your insane need to do things yourselves… Steve I don't know what to say. I see my son, and he's miserable. Do you think as a father that I want to see you unhappy?"

"No, but I'm just not sure you're on the right track."

"I am. I didn't think so until the months started to go by, but after a while, you didn't bounce back. And from the sounds of things, neither has Ellen."

"Okay, say that all of your arguments about the entire situation are true. This isn't exactly a fixable situation."

"I don't have all the answers, Steve. Nobody does. But, I do know where to start. Talk to her, send her a note. Then go from there."

"I don't know, Dad. What if it doesn't work out?"

"I'll pay for the postage and the phone calls."

"Throw in cooking dinner tonight, and you have a deal."

"I was going to cook dinner anyway."

"And I was just making sure."

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen fairly floated into the café the next morning.

"What's gotten into you?" Carol asked when Ellen almost missed the chair she was sitting down into.

"What?" Ellen replied, distracted.

Carol raised one eyebrow, "Mr. Wonderful?"

Ellen nodded, "I called his father last night, and he answered the phone. Then he called back a little while later."

"The father or the son?"

"Carol!"

"I thought journalists were supposed to keep things simple for their readers. You're using too many pronouns."

"Fine, the son called back. We talked and we agreed that we might both have overreacted to my being offered a job in Chicago."

"And?"

"And, that's it. He isn't exactly a fast mover, Carol. Besides, we need to make sure we're doing the right thing in re-establishing our relationship."

"Right thing? Ellen he could be shot dead by the time you two think you're doing the right thing."

"What did you say?" Ellen glanced up with a small crease between her eyebrows.

Carol, being the daughter of Mark Sloan, realized her slip and thought quickly, "I said he could be shot dead. You know, like saying something bad could happen only with more shock value."

"Oh, it's just that he does have a dangerous job…" Ellen trailed off not quite sure that she believed Carol's explanation, but not having any reason to doubt her. 

"Ellen, I'm not psychic. I wasn't foretelling bad things."

"I know. It's just that I have a small problem."

"And that is?"

"I have to go to California next week."

"And this is bad how?"

"I'm going with Dr. Tremble. He called during the small break between phone calls last night. I just thought it would be a good way to investigate him more."

"And Mr. Perfect tends to jump to incorrect conclusions when it comes to you and your reporting?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Wild guess. Look, just call and tell him the truth."

"Oh, that will work. You don't know him."

"I think I do. He's--ounds like a great guy Ellen. He'll understand if you explain it to him correctly."

"What would correctly be?"

"Tell him you're investigating someone. Then tell him that you're pretending to be the guy's girlfriend. Then tell Mr. Perfect that you're going to California. He won't like it, but he won't think you're pseudo cheating on him."

"In other words, don't tell him I'm coming to California with another guy first?"

"Yes."

"Well, okay then. You know, that might just work. Are you sure you're not psychic? Because you sound like you almost know him."

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Jesse Travis heard blood pounding in his ears as he crept around the hallways of Community General. Both Steve and Mark were looking for him. The nurse he had spoken to said that it wasn't anything medical. Which meant it was personal, and Jesse did not want to discuss anything personal with any Sloan at any time for the next fifty years. 

"Jesse!' Mark's voice sounded directly behind him.

With the sigh of the martyred, Jesse turned around to face two Sloans. "Hi, guys."

"Relax, Jess. I know what Dad's been up to."

"Yes, yes he does," Mark continued for his son, "What I'd like to know is why you knew."

"I, ah, overheard you plotting on the phone the other night. I, uh, got to your house early."

"I wouldn't call it plotting…" Mark sounded slightly hurt.

"Yeah, well I would," Steve said.

"So, you two aren't mad at me?"

"No, but next time Dad interferes with my life, tell me, okay?" 

"And the next time you overhear a conversation tell me about it." Mark admonished.

"Sure guys, sure," Jesse smiled a weak yet relieved smile.

"Oh, and Jesse, don't help anyone interfere with my personal business again. Even if it is my father." Steve tossed back over his shoulder as he walked away.

Jesse nodded automatically, "Sure," he croaked out.

Wearily he leaned up against the hospital wall. He was in way over his head.


	8. 8

First chapter = disclaimers.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen forced herself to smile in the mirror. What she was doing in a hotel room in California getting ready to go out with a man other than Steve Sloan was beyond her. She had taken Carol's advice and very carefully explained the situation to Steve. She thought he had taken the news fairly well. Of course, it was hard to tell. She had heard stony silence for a few minutes. Then he muttered something under his breath. Then he finally sighed and thanked her for helping out his dad.

Then he swore he'd shoot off the guy's nether regions if he so much as looked at her wrong.

Ellen shook her head. One nice conversation with Steve and he puts you back on his protection list. She had to admit, Steve was in the right field. It must be a familial compunction to help others at your own risk, Ellen mused.

If she ever had children, they'd probably spend their spare time helping old ladies across the street. Then when they became teenagers, they would mess up every relationship they got into.

Ellen frowned. Maybe the relationship gene skipped generations. Mark did not seem to have any problems with women. 

That was, of course, assuming things with Steve went smoothly, and she could move back, and that she could find a job to move back.

Ellen stuck her tongue out at her mirror. Her life sucked. No doubt about it. Get one thing the way you want it and the rest of your life gets pushed into limbo.

A knock at her hotel room door jarred her from her musings. She strode over to open it, and Dr. Tremble was on the other side. He showed his best smile and offered her his arm.

"I'm so glad you agreed to come with me tonight. I really wanted to impress the staff at Community General, and I have the feeling that you're just the ticket," he said as he led her towards the elevator.

Ellen suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. What made this guy think she liked being treated as a nice bobble to compliment his outfit?

"You're too kind." Ellen managed to say in a pleasant voice.

"Ellen, when we get there, try to be especially nice to Dr. Sloan. People at the hospital tend to look to him for guidance. I want to make a good impression."

Inwardly, Ellen broiled. The guy was a total jerk. He was lecturing her to be nice at a party. What gave him the right? At least Steve lectured her about ethical issues. He at least had a valid reason to lecture her. This guy was simply using her to advance his career. The only thing stopping Ellen from snapping at him was that she was basically using him in return. Granted, it was because of Mark's personal request, but she was still deceiving him nonetheless. 

With a polite smile plastered onto her face, Ellen grimly escorted Alvin into the party. Mark greeted them jovially and began to introduce himself. Ellen let her eyes gaze over Mark's shoulder as he made small talk with Dr. Tremble. In no time, she found her gaze met with Steve's. He wasn't happy. She could tell that by the look in his eyes.

What, exactly, he was unhappy about was another matter. He could be angry with his dad for putting him into this position. He could be angry at having to pretend not to know Ellen. He could be unhappy because of the possessive way that Dr. Tremble was hovering around Ellen, or his shoes could be too tight. 

She smiled a genuine smile when Jesse went over and started talking to Steve to distract him. She Steve smirk a little then glance up to meet her own again. He deliberately rolled his eyes. She choked down a laugh. Obviously, Steve knew exactly what Jesse was attempting to do. 

After a few minutes, Mark left to talk to some other guests and Alvin got himself into a very important conversation with an important investor. As the conversation progressed, Ellen saw that she was neither needed nor particularly wanted at that moment, so she quietly slipped away.

Her movements did not go unnoticed, and she was quickly met in the corner of the room by Steve.

"Enjoying the party?" he asked as he handed her a glass of punch.

"Oh, it is great. If that guy was actually my date I'd have killed him by now."

"Why don't you? That would give me something to do other than stand around looking useless."

"I'm adverse to the bright orange they make you wear in prison. What are you doing here anyway? I thought this was a big mucky-muck gathering."

"Ah, it is, but Dad didn't have an escort, so…"

"So, he tricked you into coming."

"Yes."

"You know, the two of you are more alike…"

"Hey, I do not trick people," he paused a moment, "Often."

Ellen smiled and changed the subject, "I don't see many people I know here."

"I don't think you ever met many people at Community General besides the ones Dad knew. And those have been strictly warned not to notice you."

"Mark's an amazing person, I'll give him that."

"Yeah, you know, speaking of my father, what exactly does he have you doing here anyway? I mean I know that you're with Mr. Charming over there, but what is it that Dad wants?"

"I'm looking in on the estimable Dr. Alvin Tremble because Mark thinks there isn't something quite right about him. The only thing I've come up with proof on is that he's egotistical."

"Its funny Dad didn't mention anything to me about it."

"Not really. I don't think that his main goal was getting information on Dr. Tremble."

"Well, I know that, but I don't think that Dad is too thrilled about him getting hired. Are you sure you haven't found anything on him yet?"

"Well, the only thing I've found is that he had an unlisted phone number in his wallet. I finally found out that it belonged to a married woman and that it was an extension at a private cabin somewhere. Like I said, it only proves that he's a jerk, and only proves that circumstantially. She could have just given him the number to call for her test results or something."

"Do you really believe that?"

"No, but it doesn't prove anything."

"It does if he was fraternizing with a patient."

"Yes, but it doesn't prove he was fraternizing. Besides, what ever happened to your lectures about my gossipy stories?"

"I've revised my opinions based upon my belief in woman's intuition?"

"Nice try. Not good, but nice."

"Ellen, there you are," Alvin said as he sidled up next to her, "I see you've met Dr. Sloan's son."

"Yes, the detective is quite a fascinating man. Did you know that he lives with his father?"

Alvin's face lit up at that comment, "You two must be very close then. Say, Ellen, I'm going to talk with those gentlemen over there. I was going to take you with, but if you're in a conversation…"

"I'll be fine without you. I'll see you later," Ellen replied with a smile.

"Great!" Alvin sauntered off.

Steve watched him go, "What was that about?"

"He wants me to get on Mark's good side for him."

"And he thinks that I'm the ticket?"

"Well, you are, aren't you?"

Steve grinned, "Well, if you really want to get on my good side, I know this fabulous little restaurant…"

"You're so cheap, Sloan. You're asking me to the restaurant you own?"

"Hey, I'm a police officer. I don't have spare cash just floating around. Besides, do you really want to be here when Dr. Perfect returns?"

"If I'm not, I'll lose my ground with him."

"So? I don't think Dad would mind. Jesse says that he's already got half of the hiring committee dedicated against hiring him."

"He what? And you didn't see fit to tell me this earlier?"

Steve grinned, "That would be against our normal pattern of exchanging information."

"You're exasperating. And you're father is worse."

"But you love us anyway."

"You… Oh, you know I can't say anything nasty after that. You're playing dirty."

"No, playing dirty would be reminding you about how much my dad adores you… How much I adore you."

"Steve, don't you think that declarations of love should be made somewhere private?"

"Who's declaring love? I'm talking adoration here. If I wanted to declare love, I'd do this," Steve bent down and quickly kissed her on the lips, "Only I'd do it in a longer fashion, and somewhere private."

Ellen looked dazedly back at him, "I'll get my coat."


	9. 9

First chapter = disclaimers

Well, another short chapter, but I wanted to do all the revelations in the final chapter, so this one had to be shorter. 

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ellen glanced at Steve as they sat on the folded down tailgate of his truck. They were supposedly watching the stars as they munched on a bucket of ribs-to-go from a restaurant that Steve refused to name.

"So, do you think he's noticed I'm gone yet?"

"Who? Dad or your date?"

"My date, of course, Mark probably foresaw this and bugged your truck."

"No, actually he put a video camera in it."

Ellen laughed until Steve pulled the afore mentioned camera out of his pocket.

"You've got to be kidding me. He actually put that in your truck?"

"Yes, he'd have had sound too, but I caught Amanda trying to slip it in when I stopped at the hospital this afternoon. Dad was sneaky though, Amanda didn't know anything about a video camera. He must have put it in without telling anyone so I would stop looking after I found the sound bug. Dad, of course, denies everything."

"So, how did you find the video camera?"

"I hit my rear view mirror by accident. I saw a tiny speck in the reflection. Sure enough, there was a tiny snake camera running down to a recording unit underneath my back seat. It was angled to record the whole cab."

Ellen smiled and lifted her to-go soda, "To your father, may he never quit being so sneaky."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Yeah."

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Jesse rubbed his hands together as he strolled through the party. Life was good, he'd just gotten off of the phone with the newspaper, and they had agreed to hire Ellen on a temporary basis. It Had taken quite a bit of work, but Jesse Travis did not hang around the Sloans without picking up a few of their unusual tactics.

"Mark, Amanda, how are you guys tonight?"

"Fine," Amanda replied, "What's gotten into you Jess? You look like you swallowed a lightbulb."

"Yes, why do you look so… glowy?" Mark asked

"Well, with a little persuasion and out right begging, I managed to get a job."

"What, but Jesse, you already have a job," Amanda looked at him, perplexed.

"Oh, not for me, for Ellen, you know, so she can stay and hang around Steve, make him less depressed and moody and ornery and…"

"We get the picture. But how did you do it so quickly?" Mark interrupted.

"Quick?! Oh, I mean, I ah had some good connections and stuff. What can I say, I'm good. I should be an agent."

"I wouldn't go that far," Amanda grinned.

"Wouldn't go that far about what Dr. Bentley?" Alvin Tremble slid intrusively into their conversation.

"Oh, we were just discussing ways to get rid of you. I thought I should push you into traffic, but Amanda thought that that would be going to far," Jesse said in a jovial voice.

Dr. Tremble looked back and forth to see if it was some sort of inside joke that he should laugh at, but the shocked expressions on Mark and Amanda's faces did not reall give him a clue to what was going on.

"Come again?" he asked perplexed.

"What Jesse means doctor…" Amanda began, but Jesse soon cut her off.

"What I meant is that you're a big, egotistical two-timing jerk who slept with his patients. Now, I was trying to get rid of you quietly, but I can loudly tell everyone in this room what you are."

Alvin looked to the other doctors, but their silence indicated that they agreed with Dr. Travis.

"Fine then," he huffed, "I'll just collect my date and we'll be going."

"Don't bother; she left about an hour ago. Besides, who do you think told me all about you?" Jesse spoke quietly, but with determination.

Dr. Tremble's jaw hung open. He closed it a few times only to have it drop again. Unable to come up with a suitably stinging reply, he left.

Mark's eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead, "Where did that come from?"

Jesse shrugged his shoulders, "He was getting on my nerves, besides we don't need him anymore."

"That still wasn't very nice, Jesse," Amanda reprimanded.

"That guy didn't deserve to have me be nice to him."

Mark chuckled, "True enough. What say we go back to my place and wait for the love birds to come home?"

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Steve smiled down at Ellen as he walked her up the sidewalk to his front door, "I suppose we should go in there and face the curious masses."

"Now who's blowing things out of proportion? Three people is not a mass, Steve."

"It is when they're the three people that are in there."

Ellen smiled, "Well then, why don't you declare your love for me again? As a bolstering of fortitude, so to speak."

Steve smiled back, "And because they're all peeking out of the window?"

"Naturally."

He shook his head slightly, then plunged down and kissed her lightly. He broke off, waved at the window, then swooped down for a more serious encounter.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````


	10. Epilogue

Whew! Sorry it took so long for me to get this out.

I present to you, the last chapter of Romance & Regret. (Actually its more of a short epilogue, but hey it works : 0

It occurs to me that I've written a similar ending bit to this fic as "Pictures & Frames"

*sigh* But, as I'm too lazy of an author, just over look it PLEASE????? (gives big, sad puppy dog eyes)

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Steve shook his head as he finished moving Ellen's last box, "Promise me I'm not going to have to move you again?"

"Well, not any time soon anyway. Be happy that I decided to sell most of my furniture. Besides, I thought you liked showing off all of those hard earned COP muscles."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make certain phrases sound like newspaper headlines," Steve grunted as he struggled with removing some of the packing tape. "'COP muscles,' it sounds like I'm a current event."

"Oh, like you don't make everyday things sounds like crimes. I thought that leaving that ketchup out on the counter was a prosecutable offence from the way that you talked," Ellen jabbed back as she started pulling her things out.

"Is it my fault that no one realizes that ketchup needs to be refrigerated after opening? Does nobody else read the label?"

"Fighting already?" Marks voice floated down the stairs as he carried down a single pillow.

"How come he gets the easy job?"

"Because, this is my house young man," Mark replied as he tossed the pillow onto Steve's bed. 

The three of them looked askance at the flowery thing laying on Steve's rather masculine bed. 

"It looks like you're going to have to redecorate," Mark smiled.

Steve blanched, "We could just get rid of the pillow."

Two stares focused on him. Ellen grunted in disgust, and Mark laughed.

"Steve, how can you have reached your age and not realized that it is a woman's prerogative to redecorate?" Mark glanced over at Ellen as she moved around various and sundry clothing items, "In addition to taking over the majority of storage space, of course."

Steve groaned.

Marks laughed again, "It isn't my fault that you proposed."

"I think it is, you're the one who was sneaking around my back, tricking us putting video camera's in my truck…"

"It was a microphone."

Steve snorted, "Dad, I found the camera. You don't have to pretend."

Mark shook his head, "Steve, I'm telling you all I had was Amanda putting a simply bug in your truck. And she didn't even succeed."

Steve frowned, "Then who put the camera in there?"

A faint clomping was heard coming down the stairs, "Hey, you guys down there?" Jesse grinned as he reached the bottom step.

Three pairs of eyes regarded him suspiciously.

"What?" Jesse grinned nervously, "Do I have something on my face?"

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about my truck and a video camera would you?" Steve queried as he stepped closer to his friend.

Jesse backed a step up the stairs.

"For that matter, how did you swing that job for me so quickly?" Ellen countered.

Jesse swallowed. Hard.

Mark frowned, "And just how did you know what I was doing when Steve found out I was going behind his back?"

"Well, that is I…I… Hey! Don't you guys trust me?"

Steve shook his head, "Not particularly."

"Oh Steve, can't you stop interrogating the good doctor for one second?" Carol smiled as she appeared next to Jesse on the stairs.

"Carol?" Steve, Mark, and Ellen's voices sounded at the same time. Steve and Mark looked at Ellen confused while Ellen stared back at the two Sloan men with an identical expression of confusion.

A click and a bright light signaled that a picture had just been taken.

Jesse grinned unrepentantly as he slid the small camera back into his pocket, "Man, you should see the looks on your faces. Oh, thanks for the slim line camera Mark, you were right. I t did come in handy."

Steve turned on his friend, "Jesse…"

"On that note, I think I'll leave you to the angry masses," Jesse said to Carol as he sprinted up the stairs.

 Mark smiled at Carol, "I didn't think you were coming until Thursday."

"Well, I decided that I should probably come a little sooner than that. I didn't want to provide undo stress to the happy couple so close to their nuptials."

  
"Wait a second," Ellen flustered, "You already know them?"

"Of course I know them. Although, why you want to marry a man who hasn't been able to make toast since he was five is beyond me."

"Carol," Steve growled in frustration.

"It is the truth, Steve."

Ellen shook her head, "How?"

Steve looked at his intended, "Ellen, why do you know my sister?"

Ellen blanched, "Your WHAT?"

"My sister. I mentioned her once, didn't I?"

Ellen stared at him, "I think you muttered something about it once, when we were putting out the invitations. What bothers me is the fact that SHE didn't mention anything about it."

Carol smiled innocently, "Why whatever do you mean? I told you I had an irritating brother that lives with his nosy father."

"You didn't mention that I happened to be in love with your brother."

"Well, I didn't know. Then, when I did know, I figured the two of you were too stubborn to admit anything without help. Then, when you finally wised up, I thought it would be a touch funny to surprise you."

Ellen fought back the tiniest of smiles; it was somewhat amusing in a very twisted way.

Steve, on the other hand, did not appear to be sharing the merriment.

"Hold on one second. You two obviously know each other. Why?"

 Carol smiled sweetly at her brother, "I met Ellen shortly after she moved to Chicago. She kept ranting and raving about this stud she knew back in California. After that one visit, I figured out that she seemed to be stark raving mad in love with you for some unknown reason."

Mark laughed then quickly sobered. His mouth opened slightly in wonder, "Jesse brought you here from the airport! You two have been working together all along!"

Carol nodded.

Steve's face turned red, "Jesse put the camera in my truck!"

"You're very perceptive, Steve. And I must say that you've trained Dr. Travis very well, Dad."

Mark smiled, "You know, I feel strangely proud at this moment."

Steve sulked, "Well I don't."

Ellen snickered, "Lighten up, Steve. He didn't do any harm."

"Well, he does have that photo he just took," Mark commented mischievously.

Ellen look wide eyed at Steve. In unison, they bolted for the stairs, neatly sidestepping carol.

"JESSE!"

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

The End.


End file.
